The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ski lifts and in particular to informational displays available and presented to riders on a chair lift system.
The Background Art
Riders of ski chair lifts may spend considerable time riding a lift up a mountain side to the beginning of a particular run or series of runs, before skiing down one or more of those runs to the bottom to repeat the exercise. While skiing, a skier does exercise and may maintain body warmth by virtue of that exercise. However, considerable time is spent in a virtually stationary position in the chair. Moreover, considerable time is spent waiting in line at some resorts. Thus, considerable time is spent idle.
Typically, users may have only limited time to review area maps posted on signs about a ski resort. Instead, a user or rider of a ski lift may typically have a folded map in a pocket. Folded maps are necessarily problematic. Removing bulky gloves to unfold a map and fold it up again is not highly effective, and can be very uncomfortable.
For example, high above the surface of the earth, ski chair lifts may sometimes be dozens of feet high in the air. Thus, riders are exposed to wind and cold. Removing gloves and mittens while riding a chair life is hardly recommended due to the cold weather.
Riding a lift a user or rider is provided only limited opportunity for movement and thus is exposed to full force of the prevailing climate, which is typically cold to support the necessary environment for a ski resort. Comfort may be improved by keeping protective clothing in place.
Meanwhile, riders have a limited time upon completing a run to review a larger area map posted on signage at the resort. Moreover, a user must go back into a line to wait for the next chair. Thus, it would be an advance if a user of a ski resort, a rider, a skier, could have access to a map, already printed, mounted right on the lift chair that a particular user is riding.